Among modern music players, Foobar2000 is perhaps one of the most significant places. Some users who have not fully figured out its capabilities mistakenly claim that the Foobar2000 is a good audio player with a clear interface. But to say that he is just good is to say nothing. The fact is that it contains so many diverse and sometimes very unexpected software solutions that sometimes it’s just amazing how the developers managed to combine all of them in one package. In the material presented below, we will try to consider how the Foobar2000 is tuned for maximum sound quality using absolutely all the basic and hidden features, which, however, can only be realized by installing additional components, the most important of which will be presented later. But first things first.
Modifications released
Apparently, the developers of this player approached its creation very thoroughly. It is not surprising that on the official website, where this software is available for download for free, you can find the latest version of the player for Windows-systems, Foobar2000 for Mac and mobile platforms.
To download, you need to select only the desired link and click on it. But here you need to pay attention to the fact that for the same Windows-systems you can download the installation distribution directly from the link on the resource or get the application from the "Store". To start downloading for the "apple" and mobile OS, you will need to click on the redirect link to the appropriate storage. Unfortunately, Foobar2000 for Linux is not represented on the site, but the installation can be started, say, on the Ubuntu platform with Wine, provided that the system is configured as a modification of Windows XP. But since Windows-systems are considered the most common in our country, we will consider all the main aspects related to the installation and configuration of the player exclusively for them.
Key features, pros and cons of the music processor
As for the possibilities, it is simply unrealistic to describe everything in one article. At least, we can limit ourselves to the fact that the most basic direction in using this music player is to play high-quality uncompressed audio lossless-format, although the player itself accepts almost all known audio formats without the need to install additional codecs (they are only needed to expand the player’s functionality and getting the most pure sound, which will be discussed a little later).
The undoubted advantages of the Foobar2000 music player, in addition to supporting the maximum number of audio formats, are flexibility of settings, the ability to connect additional software modules in the form of DSP effects and hardware devices for playback, support for the integration of additional audio drivers, codecs and decoders, and much more. The disadvantages include the lack of predefined settings for built-in effects, as well as the complete absence of a Russian-language interface.
Installing the main program
Finally, you decided on the platform and downloaded the installation distribution, which is currently available in version 1.4. While we are not considering installing additional components, we take into account only the installation of the main program. Based on the description of the system requirements presented on the official resource, the player can easily work even on outdated i686 processors and relatively outdated operating systems of the Windows family. In the seventh modification and above, as usual, the installer is launched on behalf of the administrator (provided that the super administrator account is not disabled by the user himself), after which you must agree with the trust to the application by the UAC control service, and then follow the prompts of the corresponding “Wizard” ". There is nothing complicated.
If desired, at one of the stages, you can choose either a complete or portable installation. When choosing a full installation, you do not need to change the components installed by default.
First run and quick pre-settings
So, the program is installed. Now is the time to familiarize yourself with the player’s interface and adjust the sound in the Foobar2000 player based on the features presented in the main software package. After starting the application, for example, through the shortcut created on the "Desktop" window, the window for quick settings will be issued automatically.
Here you can select the design colors, distribution and sorting of tracks by playlists, install additional information blocks, etc. All interface elements change automatically when you click on the corresponding option item. After that, you can open the track, several files or folders to add them to the player. Please note that even if there are videos in the selected directory, their audio tracks can also be played. The main parameters can be viewed through the file menu by selecting the appropriate item (Preferences).
Initially, the “factory” setting of the Foobar2000 is such that, in general, it is not necessary to change the set parameters. In the best case, you can experiment with the equalizer, which is located in the DSP effects section, presented in the View menu.
Install additional ASIO drivers
Now let's move on to installing some additional components, due to which you can improve the sound quality. For playback, owners of computers and laptops with powerful sound cards (including external ones) can use the installation of special ASIO drivers, which are superior in all respects to the primary sound drivers of the system. Apparently, musicians working with virtual studios and sequencers do not need to explain what it is, since it is ASIO drivers that are required to get the most pure sound in many such programs. To configure Foobar2000 (in Windows 7, for example), such software is also provided. You can also download it on the official resource. To connect the loaded driver, the foo_out_asio file must be placed in the Components directory in the main installation directory of the player, then run it and agree to add the component.
After that, you need to activate the copied item by clicking the Apply and OK buttons. After restarting the player, you can select your preferred driver with its bit capacity.
In the settings of the ASIO panel, it is best to set the maximum value for the buffer (2048 samples).
Note: when selecting playback via ASIO directly in the Output section, the buffer size can be increased up to 30,000 ms.
Installing an additional tape drive
Since ASIO drivers are not supported by some integrated soundcards (except for sound cards with High Definition Audio support), their owners can configure Foobar2000 for improved audio playback quality by installing a special component Kernel Streaming Support, which also needs to be downloaded from the official website of the developer in the form dynamic library. It, like the ASIO component, needs to be moved to the above directory, and then activated in the same way in the output settings in the program itself (Output), choosing to play the component whose name begins with the KS prefix.
Configure Foobar2000 to play SACD format
To use plug-ins and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC), the player can be configured to play the enhanced SACD format, which replaces conventional CD-ROMs. First you need to connect the playback device and install the appropriate control software for it, downloaded from the resource of the equipment manufacturer. Next, you will need to install an additional decoder for Super Audio CD, which, as already understood, can be downloaded on the website of the developer of the software player Foobar2000
Install and configure decoder
After unpacking the archive, all its contents must be placed in the player’s components folder, as shown in the example of the tape drive.
After that, you can activate an additional DSP processor and decoder. When confirming, the player will restart.
Then the installed components will appear in the list.
Installing the ASIOProxy Component
Another additional configuration of the Foobar2000 is related to the ASIOProxy component, which is designed to play DSD. This utility comes bundled with the decoder described above, and its actions are absolutely identical to everything that was described above.
Among other things, you can manually install a special ASIO transcoder by running the installer from the dsd_transcoder folder, which is located in the directory with the codec. After that, the indicated item will appear in the list of drivers for playback.
Changing the program interface
As for changing the appearance of the player, setting up the Foobar2000 involves some options for managing the interface elements.
First, you need to activate this feature, as shown in the image above, and then you can use the RMB menu on the selected item or information field to change its appearance, properties, etc.
Full customization of Foobar2000 due to advanced capabilities of third-party skins
However, as practice shows, it is possible to reveal absolutely all the built-in hidden capabilities of the player only by installing additional themes (skins). So, when choosing the popular Xchange Br3tt shell, you can easily display additional information about artists (biography and photos), display lyrics, etc.
After loading the contents of the theme, you should first place the contents of the fonts_xchange folder in the system font directory (Windows \ Fonts). Files from the components_exchange folder must be copied or moved to the directory with the player components, and then copy the skins folder with the downloaded theme directly to the main installation directory of the player.
To select a skin after restarting the program, a window will appear in which you need to select the ColumnsUI item and accept the change in settings.
After that, in the display settings, you need to import the preferences for the selected skin in the FCL importing and exporting window, indicating the path to the xchange directory configuration file in the copied skins folder, and then confirm the operation of adding all selected elements. And only after that the player’s appearance will be transformed beyond recognition, and the same hidden features that were mentioned above will become available.
The overall result
As you can see, simply impossible to call Foobar2000 just a good audio player. This player is so unusual and interesting that it can easily surpass the most famous software players combined, both in sound quality, and in the flexibility of settings, and in its unheard of additional features, which, so to speak, need to be “woken up”. True, the lack of a Russian-language interface and built-in effects or even the lack of video support is a little disappointing, but all this can be called trifles compared to the powerful capabilities of the player, which are revealed by installing additional components. Well, the sound quality is best assessed by yourself, making the above settings. It, as already understood, is beyond praise, since few modern players can boast such high parameters, and even subject to the possibility of working with new formats of CD and audio, as well as in terms of connecting external “iron” devices to the application. As for the Foobar2000 player for mobile devices, there are not as many settings in it as in the stationary version, however, in any case, the sound quality is an order of magnitude higher than for all those players that are offered for installation on mobile platforms.